An action-packed July begins with LIV’s return to Andalucia, a quick jump to The Open at Royal Troon Golf Club, and ends with the tour revisiting The United Kingdom!
With the return of LIV Golf comes the return of LIV Fantasy! We’ll examine our top two picks for captain, five for non-captain, and three for team finishes!
Spoiler Alert: Tyrrell Hatton makes the cut once again!
Picks for Captain
- Bryson DeChambeau – DeChambeau was the runner-up to Talor Gooch at Andalucia in 2023 and is still running hot after a T3 finish at Nashville. The elite players of LIV seem to find their extra gear during tournaments preceding majors. With The Open (July 18 – 21) right around the corner, expect DeChambeau to be locked in and make a run at his first individual LIV win this season before arriving at Royal Troon in his attempt to capture a second straight major title.
- Joaquin Neimann – Despite not winning since Jeddah, Neimann still leads the individual points category by a rather wide margin, 152.40 points with Jon Rahm in second place at 116.17. Neimann’s Torque GC won Andalucia last year and the captain did his part by finishing in the top ten. Look for the majority of Torque to turn it on for Andalucia, led by their captain.
Picks for Non-Captain
- Tyrrell Hatton – LIV’s most recent individual champion has established himself as one of the best golfers on tour during his first season. Hatton will be joining the field for The Open immediately following Andalucia and will be playing in his native England the week after. I consider Hatton a serious threat to win any one of these next three tournaments. Hatton has supplanted Talor Gooch as my number one “must-play” fantasy option for the 2024 season.
- Talor Gooch– Gooch had his worst showing of the season in Nashville, coming in T42 with a final score of 1-under. The good news is that there is no evidence that Gooch will remain in a rut. In fact, after poor showings in Hong Kong and Adalaide, Gooch finished T9 and fourth place the following tournament, respectively. Despite the lack of winning this year, history is on Gooch’s side, setting him up for a huge rebound to defend his title at Andalucia.
- Sebastian Munoz – Munoz is one of the only golfers in LIV that has been getting consistently better in the standings the past three weeks in a row, as outlined our recent piece on him. Munoz also tied his best career finish, fourth place, at Andalucia last season which helped propel Torque GC into first place.
- Paul Casey– Casey has back-to-back T9 finishes in Houston and Nashville and Crushers GC seems to be getting stronger and stronger after the initial shock of losing Charles Howell III. Casey finished in the middle of the pack last season in Andalucia but his 2024 form is not comparable to 2023. Casey and the Crushers are hot, he is an excellent swing option.
- Carlos Ortiz – The individual champion at Houston followed up with a T9 finish at Nashville and is one of LIV’s hottest golfers. Ortiz was a member of Fireballs GC in 2023, and thus not part of the Torque team win, but that shouldn’t diminish his chances at a third consecutive top-ten finish.
Picks for Team
- Torque GC – Andalucia just seems like it’s destined to be Torque’s first win of the season. The firepower of Neimann, Munoz, and Ortiz is difficult to overcome.
- Crushers GC – John Catlin has filled the shoes of Charles Howell III to perfection. Catlin followed up a superb showing at LIV Nashville with a second-place finish at the Asian Tour’s International Series Morocco, losing to New Zealand’s Ben Campbell on the first playoff hole. There’s no doubt that DeChambeau and Casey are going to do their part to win, but a team win is contingent on Catlin catching lightning in a bottle once again and Anirban Lahiri securing a respectable finish.
- Smash GC – Three-fourths of Smash GC finished in the top ten at Andalucia last year. Graeme McDowell is the weak link here, but he’s having a much better season as a member of Smash GC than he ever did with Cleeks. Smash absolutely has the ability to win and is a smart bet for a podium finish. It’s honestly a toss-up for runner-up between Smash and Crushers, but I give Crushers the edge due to recent performances.
Remember to set your fantasy roster before Friday at 7:00 AM ET when LIV returns to action in Andalucia!
